London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 31, 2025

Covid cases return to early April levels

Covid cases return to early April levels

Coronavirus cases have risen to their highest level since early April, when lockdown restrictions first began to be lifted, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest.

But these and other figures indicate the vaccination programme is making a significant difference.

The study estimated around 153,000 people had Covid in the week to 19 June - almost 30% more than the week before.

It's still ten times lower than the January peak, though.

The ONS study, which has run throughout most of the pandemic, takes swabs from a sample of the UK population, whether or not they have symptoms.

This allows it to monitor the virus, even in those who don't know they have it or won't otherwise come forward for testing.

Although cases, hospital admissions and deaths have been on the rise, the deaths haven't risen nearly as much as we'd expect, based on this number of cases pre-vaccines.

Dr Jenny Harries - Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency- said the vaccines had "begun to break the link between cases and hospitalisations".

Caution still needed


But she warned that while they "provide excellent protection, they do not provide total protection" - so caution was still needed.

The ONS found a clear increase in the percentage of people testing positive in England and Scotland, while the trend was "uncertain" in Wales and Northern Ireland.

The highest percentage of people testing positive was in the North West of England, followed by the North East (0.3%) - but Scotland saw a bigger increase in cases than England, despite having fewer cases overall.

The biggest increase in positive tests was found in older teenagers and younger adults - those aged 17-24. This group is among the most likely to mix with lots of other people, while being the least likely to be vaccinated.

People aged 25-34 had been on a similar upward trend but this appears to have been curtailed by the introduction of vaccines, and cases in this age group are falling again.

This comes as Public Health England figures - also published on Friday - show a 46% increase in the number of Delta variant Covid cases in the last week, with most cases being in the under-50s.

The 80,000 (or 90% of) Delta cases found in under-50s have led to eight deaths - none of these had been double-vaccinated.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×